Contestants sit at computer screens and practice during a rehearsal of the DirecTV and IGN, a gaming website, are teaming up and putting on a huge professional video game tournament on Treasure Island Friday and Saturday. What makes this unique is that this will be the first time a US pro gaming match will be covered much like a NFL game or NASCAR race. The companies are betting that the video gaming can follow the lead of professional poker and make a splash on television. They're investing heavily in this and plan to start a league next year that will have regular television coverage of tournaments. It all starts this Friday, which wil be the first of three test tournaments before they get going next year..(CHRISTINA KOCI HERNANDEZ/THE CHRONICLE)
Ran on: 07-22-2006 Ran on: 07-22-2006 Mandatory Credit For Photographer and San Francisco Chronicle/No-Sales-Mags Out

Photo: Christina Koci Hernandez

Contestants sit at computer screens and practice during a rehearsal...

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(Forefront) James Clifford (cq)22, from New Jersey and (background) Manny Rodriguez (cq)),21, from Texas, perform trial runs in the players lounge.DirecTV and IGN, a gaming website, are teaming up and putting on a huge professional video game tournament on Treasure Island Friday and Saturday. What makes this unique is that this will be the first time a US pro gaming match will be covered much like a NFL game or NASCAR race. The companies are betting that the video gaming can follow the lead of professional poker and make a splash on television. They're investing heavily in this and plan to start a league next year that will have regular television coverage of tournaments. It all starts this Friday, which wil be the first of three test tournaments before they get going next year..(CHRISTINA KOCI HERNANDEZ/THE CHRONICLE)
*James Clifford (cq) and Manny Rodriguez (cq) Mandatory Credit For Photographer and San Francisco Chronicle/No-Sales-Mags Out

Photo: Christina Koci Hernandez

(Forefront) James Clifford (cq)22, from New Jersey and (background)...

Professional video gaming has developed along the lines of the professional tennis tour, with individuals representing themselves and their sponsors at a series of competitions.

That's about to change this week with the introduction of a professional league that will feature 10-person gaming teams representing six cities, including San Francisco. The Championship Gaming Series will feature live matches on DirecTV and a season that culminates in a round of playoffs. The top two North American teams will ultimately be pitted in a world series against teams from the Gaming Series' four other international regions, which will begin league play next year.

For the first time, cities or regions will have so-called cyber athletes representing them, in the same way the 49ers represent San Francisco. Other teams are Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Dallas and one representing the Carolinas. Their names will be announced this week. Whether it catches on remains to be seen. But officials with the CGS, which is sponsored by IGN Entertainment, Mountain Dew and Microsoft's Xbox 360, have little doubt the time for a full-fledged professional video game league has come.

"If pro gaming has any chance to make it, this is our chance," said San Francisco's manager, Kat Hunter, a former professional gamer and freelance journalist. "I really believe this is the shot we've all been waiting for."

The official action kicks off Tuesday with a player draft, in which the general managers of the six teams select their 10 players. The GMs will use data culled from a "combine" held over the weekend to help select the players. Once chosen, the teams will compete in four games: Counter-Strike: Source, Project Gotham Racing 3, FIFA 2007 and Dead or Alive 4.

The matches will start July 9 on a soundstage in Los Angeles. The payroll for the league will exceed $5 million, with players earning at least $30,000 for the season. The players will not be expected to live in their home cities, but will be required to travel often to their cities for training.

Local game enthusiasts got a glimpse last year of what the CGS will look like. In preparation for the league, organizers mounted an invitational tournament in a plane hangar on Treasure Island in July, featuring 60 top gamers.

The event, televised on DirecTV, featured elaborate glowing sets, announcers and advanced spectator technology, allowing viewers to watch the action from within the game. Viewers will also have the option of tuning in on the Internet, via the video game Web site IGN.com, which will stream video of the matches. The event featured dozens of cameras, about what the NBA uses for a typical playoff game.

Video game analyst Billy Pidgeon of IDC said the multidisciplinary teams are a twist on pro gaming, but he doubts that the league will build enough viewership to sustain itself. He said the action will likely be too inaccessible or boring for non-gamers and could be unattractive for hardcore gamers, who would rather play than watch.

"Video games are a participatory activity," Pidgeon said. "I'd personally rather play than watch. I think that it's going to be hard to make a business out of it."

Televised video gaming has found success abroad, most notably in South Korea, where top gamers play on dedicated video game cable channels and are treated like celebrities. In the United States, the reception hasn't been so warm. Some outlets like MTV and HDNet have covered events like the World Cyber Games, but there hasn't been consistent coverage of video game tournaments.

Cable channel G4TV began life as a 24-hour video game station, but has had to broaden its focus to technology and men's lifestyle to attract viewers.

Hunter said that if the CGS can nail the execution and make the sport attractive to non-gamers and gamers, it has the ability to succeed and define televised professional gaming in the United States.

San Francisco residents, she said, should be able to rally around their fledgling team, which will eventually build a training center in the city and offer outreach and workshops for local players.